China protests US ship sailing by island in South China Sea

BEIJING – China is expressing its "strong dissatisfaction" with the U.S. over the Navy's latest freedom of navigation operation in which a warship sailed past one of China's man-made islands in the strategic South China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement the U.S. move undermined Chinese sovereignty and security and endangered the safety of frontline personnel from both sides.

China, which claims virtually the entire South China Sea, routinely protests such operations, which President Donald Trump's administration has continued partly to reassure allies locked in territorial disputes with Beijing.

A U.S. Navy official told The Associated Press that the destroyer USS John S. McCain sailed past Mischief Reef on Thursday but gave no details.

Geng said the Chinese navy "identified the U.S. warship, warned and expelled it."